Champs d'Ail
As Les Imperaux expanded its control over the region around Ciudad Victoria it had a larger population it suddenly had to feed and care for, something that it wasn't prepared for. Thus they fiananced several "Olive and Grain" colonies with the expressed purpose of growing food to be shipped back to the home territories. To that end they have struggled, they barely scrapped by with crop quotas, and has to deal with attacks by jealous rivals and greedy Land baron, Mack Langley. History The history of Champs d'Ail starts with the Imperaux General Gilbert-Alain Xavier being assigned to lead an expedition to setup a farming colony. The party that was assembled to settle this new colony was made up of 120 volunteered farmers, most of whom were out of work prior to their volunteering along with 45 Chasseurs, members of the Imperaux Grand Armee. They were issued wagons and teams of horses to help drag their farm equipment to the location of the colony. They set off with little issue from the Distrito Capital a week later, the trip for the most part was uneventful up until they reached the border of the Cattle Country inside they were almost immediatley assailed by the militia of the Land Baron Mack Langley. They demaned an entry fee for entry into the country, the Chasseurs made themselves known to the militiamen and attempted to scare off the group with little effect. As the Militia became more and more pushy the commander of the Chasseurs tired of the delay walked up to the Militiamen and shot down their leader. What followed was a frenzied gun battle that left three Chasseurs dead and all twelve militiamen dead or wounded. After the brief skirmish the caravan headed off towards the site of the colony. Upon their arrival they began construction on the colony using the supplies given to them by the Imperial Government. The Imperial Goavernment was very meticulous in its selection of the sight of the colony, making sure not violate any local borders or property. However Mack Langley having heard that his men had been killed by the Chasseurs he ordered a retalitory attack on the colony. Langley's men quickly located the colony and entered the half complete town and opened fire on the townsfolk the Chasseurs responded by driving the militamen out of the town with light losses on each side, the Chasseurs lost 2 men and the milita four. Brigadier Gilbert-Alain Xavier declared that the town was to be put on lockdown until the buildings could be completed and the Chasseurs could secure the area around the town. Thus as the townsfolk constructed building after building the Chasseurs spread out into the area surrounding the town, setting up listening posts and patrol routes they ambushed more than one group of miltiamen as they attempted to sneak into the town. As Langley's losses mounted he became more and more determined to run the people out of the Cattle Country. To add they were on land that Langley had wanted to lease to enterprising farmers and ranchers. As the town was completed and the townsfolk sowed its first crop the miltia and Chasseur's conflict continued to escalate. After a series of brutal engagements that left dozens dead on each side Brigadier Xavier sent a message back to Ville Imperiale asking for support. Taking the message as a sign that there colony was surrounded and besieged the Imperial Government roused the Grand Armee and prepared a relief expedition, armed with everything an army could need they carried machine guns, energy weapons, artillery and mortars along with small arsenals of chemical weapons. They rode to the Cattle Country in Pre-war military trucks and their commander General Napolen XI, a brilliant commander in his own right met up with Brigadier Xavier and almost immediatley deduced that the town was by no means in any sort of danger, however feeling he needed to justfy the actions of his commanders he located the estate of Mack Langley and decided to teach the baron a lesson. He had his army (100 Chasseurs, 25 imperial Guardsmen, along with various support units) surround the estate and treated the attack as a full on military operation. He had his half dozen batteries of artillery bombard the estate with a mix of High explosive and regular rounds, then had his mortars hit the estate with Sarin rounds. His troops equipped with full Chemical warfare equipment charged the estate from all sides. the daised and dying defenders were hardly a threat to the well armed troops but the "Battle of the Langley Estate" quickly spread about the Cattle Country. Within the Bureau of Range Security and Regulation the Director and Assistant Director were shocked to hear about the battle, and that a foreign army had entered the land they viewed as under their protection. They quickly had their men deployed out into blocking positions in front of the Grand Armee's advance. However cooler heads prevailed and both sides backed down. However never again did anyone think to hary the town of Champs d'Ail. However another threat was looming, the Great Duststorm of 2254 was about to hit. It hit really without any warning at all, suddenly from out of the North came a massive cloud of dust that rolled over their struggling fields and engulfed the whole town, people ducked inside putting bandanas around their faces to protect themselves from the blinding sand. But as days passed it only got worst as the storm grew more and more powerful, brahmin died and crops wilted, people within their homes stuffed cloth, mud,tape and whetever else they could find into the the cracks in the buildings they were in. Just going across the street to the general store or to check on the neighbors was risking your life. Some people went stir crazy, locked inside their homes with no one but themselves and a few others to talk to. Others had to deal with a lacking of food and when the food ran out the dog or cat suddenly looked like a very appetizing meal. Some even said that when they were in their homes they heard some very strange things from outside, many claimed to have seen some sort of massive flying aircraft moving through the storm, many described it as a disk but most of these stories have been passed off as people having too much time inside. Regardless the storm passed after seven weeks of blowing about the town, they found their crops dead, their Brahmin dead and even the expensive and valuable Longhorns they had bought to be dead. It seemed as if their little colony had failed, however Brigadier Xavier was determined to make the venture worth while, he had his people out working day and night plowing the fields, sowing new crops he personally rode to the old Langley Estate and rounded up whatever Brahmin and Longhorns there were left and bringing them back to the town. Soon within three weeks they had crops growing, and animals being raised. When the time came for the Imperial Government (now under the control of the Committee of Internal Affairs) to collect the allotted amount of crops to be grown by the town they just barely slide by. Since then the town has become more and more productive, with the town growing enough crops to meet all crop quotas and have enough to sell to merchants and feed themselves, the town withered a lot in its brief history but it still stands today which has to account for something. Economy The economy of Champs d'Ail revolves around the crops grown and the animals they raise. After the quotas have been filled they rest of the crops are open to be sold to whomever they wish, naturally most families have personal gardens from which they sustin themselves but the vast supply of fresh produce they have left over from the harvest are sold off to merchants, caravans and local towns and homesteads. Thus the town has become rather rich, making stacks of money off selling their crops and the cattle they raise. Many butchers throughout Tamaulipas will pay good money for the fat Longhorns that the townsfolk raise in the town and thus they have become known throughout the region as Cajun Cattle Capital of the entire country. Government The Government of Champs is basically that of the Imperial Government, interchanging between Emperors and revoluntionary governments (like the Committee of Internal Affairs), however the local government has remained the some, Brigadier Xavier has ruled over the town with a tight but fair fist, he perscutes crime fairliy and favors no one, he has twice tried to been bribed and both times he shot them man dead in his office. Thus he is a rather incorruptible man, albeit with more of a dictatorial swing. Layout The layout of the town is a simple one, there is a single road that goes through town with the whole town situated around that single road. Category:Places Category:Communities Category:Mexico Category:Tamaulipas